Doers and dreamers

A travel publication by the Nova Scotia government is called the “Doers and Dreamers Guide”. The people we encounter in the texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary fall into the category of “doers”. The Gospel of Matthew was written by a Jew for followers of Jesus who were mostly Jewish. The passage today compares the superficial observance of religious custom and tradition by “religious” people with the chutzpah and confident faith of the Canaanite woman who comes to Jesus from outside His Tradition and tribe. Friar Jude Winkler notes that she approaches Jesus respectfully addressing His as “lord” or “sir”. She is aware of His ancestry and the royalty of His line of David. This attention to Him seems to be absent in the approach of the religious authorities. She is a doer. Her faith is persistent beyond the initial redirection by Jesus identifying her as one outside the “Chosen”. Her clever retort is evidence that the Spirit is for all. We can mistakenly limit the action of Providence to those who are inside the Church. The doer mentioned in the passage from the Book of Numbers is Caleb. He remains confident in Providence to carry the Israelites to the Promised Land. His faith does not let him lie to the people in the desert to avoid trusting that the Will of God is the path for them to follow in spite of the likely opposition from the inhabitants of the land across the Jordan. We have to attend to our dreams and visions when planning and motivating. Our call to action often comes with the need exercise faith in the desire of God to provide for His children.